Complaints Procedure
FAST STREAM SELECTION PROCESS: HOW TO COMPLAIN
OUR POLICY
Our recruitment process is underpinned by the principle of selection for appointment on merit on the basis of fair and open competition as outlined in the Civil Service Commissioners' Recruitment Principles. If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Code and you wish to make a complaint, you should in the first instance contact the Head of Fast Stream Operations, 67 Tufton Street, London SW1P 3QS. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive, you can contact the Office of the Civil Service Commissioners.
We are committed to fair and open recruitment into the Fast Stream, and are pleased that complaints about our recruitment process are unusual. But we do want candidates to tell us if they believe they have a grievance.
We have an established procedure for investigating any complaints we do receive. We aim to do so thoroughly, objectively and – without compromising thoroughness or objectivity - as quickly as possible. We also try to learn what lessons we can from a complaint, and see it as an opportunity to improve our performance.
Please note that our complaints procedure covers only those parts of the Fast Stream selection process for which the Cabinet Office is responsible (essentially, the Fast Stream Assessment Centre and our contractor, Parity). It does not cover anything for which others are responsible (eg the Final Selection Boards arranged by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Technology in Business, HR, the European Fast Stream or Parliament; recruitment by GCHQ or the Secret Intelligence Service).
WHAT DO WE MEAN BY A COMPLAINT?
We do not wish to be too prescriptive, and it is safest to consider cases individually. But if, for example, you feel that our administrative or other procedures caused you significant inconvenience or substantial loss; or if you believe there is demonstrable evidence that action on our part adversely affected the outcome of your candidature; or if you are dissatisfied with the way we interacted with you personally at some point during the selection process, you might be considering a complaint. Such cases will normally be covered by our complaints procedure, and we shall certainly wish to investigate them.
Appeals against the decisions of the Assessment Centre are not considered. If, therefore, you simply disagree with the judgment of the Assessment Centre, we shall not consider that you have grounds for complaint.
Minor grievances, perhaps arising from some inconvenience (eg a deficiency in the domestic arrangements on FSAC premises) or a minor loss caused by administrative error (eg miscalculation of your expenses), are not treated as complaints, but dealt with by normal administrative procedures. Similarly, comments on our procedures, or criticisms of our policies, will be responded to as fully as possible but will not normally be treated as complaints.
You may not normally complain on behalf of a third party unless circumstances require it (eg if you are acting on behalf of a disabled candidate who is unable to handle his/her own case).
HOW TO COMPLAIN
Complaints must be submitted in writing, and addressed to:
Head of Fast Stream Operations
67 Tufton Street
London SW1P 3QS.
Please provide the fullest account possible of the circumstances surrounding your complaint.
If you do not submit your complaint within three months of the action complained of, we will not normally be obliged to consider it. If there are exceptional circumstances (eg an event coming to light more than three months after it occurred and which was unknown to you at the time), we may consider a complaint outside this period.
OUR COMMITMENT TO YOU
We will aim to acknowledge your complaint within three working days of its receipt.
We will take your complaint seriously, give it high priority and investigate it fully and impartially.
We will aim to send you a full written response to your complaint within 20 working days of its receipt.
If this is not possible, we will let you know, and explain why. We will do our best to ensure that our response is comprehensive and free from jargon.
If your complaint is upheld, we shall take immediate action to ensure that the event complained of cannot recur.
If your complaint is not upheld, we will advise you of options for pursuing it further, should you wish to do so.
Fast Stream Assessment Centre
Cabinet Office
November 2009
